MONDAY’S RESULT

BOSTON 6, PITTSBURGH 1; BOS leads 2-0
Brad Marchand scored 28 seconds after the opening faceoff and with 8.1 seconds remaining in the first period to help the Bruins build a 4‑1 lead through 20 minutes. Tuukka Rask made 26 saves for the victory, while Tomas Vokoun and Marc-Andre Fleury each allowed three goals.

FOUR SCORE
The Bruins scored four goals in the first period to take a 4‑1 lead after 20 minutes, marking the first time in 30 years that a visiting team has recorded four or more goals in the opening period of a Conference Final or Stanley Cup Final game. The last time that happened was in Game 4 of the 1983 Campbell Conference Final, when the Oilers outscored the Blackhawks, 4‑1, in the first period on the strength of 1‑1—2 from Wayne Gretzky. (Elias)

WHERE THEY WANT THEM?
Since 1991, the Penguins are 5-3 (.625) in series when losing the first two games – however, only one of those series victories has come after dropping the first two games at home (1996 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals versus Washington). No other team in the last 22 years has more than two such series wins and all six of those clubs have a winning percentage of .400 or below. (Elias)

The Penguins also are the last team to overcome a 2‑0 series deficit in the Conference Finals – they did so in 1991, when they beat the Bruins in six games en route to their first Stanley Cup.

HIGH-OCTANE OFFENSE
Five Bruins – Patrice Bergeron, Johnny Boychuk, Nathan Horton, Jaromir Jagr and Brad Marchand – had multi-point performances. Ten of Boston’s 18 skaters registered at least one point.

The Penguins (3.69 goals per game) and Bruins (3.36) are the highest-scoring teams in the playoffs. Pittsburgh (3.38) also led the League during the regular season, while Boston (2.65) ranked tied for 13th.

MARCH-ING ON
Brad Marchand recorded his first multi-goal playoff game since scoring twice in Boston’s Game 7 Stanley Cup-clinching victory over Vancouver on June 15, 2011. Marchand also finished Game 2 with a +4 rating, the best plus/minus of his postseason career.

PRIMETIME PERFORMER
David Krejci scored his eighth goal of the playoffs to tie Chicago’s Patrick Sharp for the League lead. Krejci has 28-39—67 in 73 career postseason games, an average of 0.92 points per game. He has 91-218—309 in 424 career regular-season games, an average of 0.73 points per game.

Krejci also leads all players with 8-12—20 in 14 games during the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs. That matches the total of the top point-producers from last year’s postseason (Dustin Brown, Anze Kopitar). Krejci led all players with 12-11—23 in 25 games during the 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs en route to helping Boston win its first championship in 39 years.

HORTON STEPS UP
Nathan Horton scored the game-winning goal, added an assist and recorded a +2 rating. He leads the NHL with a +19 rating in 14 games this postseason and has a career +30 rating in 35 playoff games.

JAGR AMONG GREATS
Jaromir Jagr (78-117—195 in 194 GP) collected two assists to move one point behind Paul Coffey (59-137—196 in 194 GP) for fifth on the all-time playoff scoring list. He also is one goal shy of tying Jean Beliveau for 10th on the all-time postseason goals list. Jagr leads all active players in playoff goals, assists and points.

GOALTENDING WOES
Marc-Andre Fleury returned to Pittsburgh’s net at 16:31 of the first period after Tomas Vokoun allowed three goals on 12 shots. Making his first appearance since Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, Fleury didn’t fare much better, yielding three goals on 17 shots to end the night with a .824 save percentage.

BEEN THERE
The Bruins won the first two games of the Eastern Conference Final by scores of 3‑0 and 6‑1, marking only the eighth time in NHL history that a road team has recorded victories by three or more goals in each of the first two games of a playoff series. Three other such instances have involved the Bruins – in 1970, they won by scores of 6‑3 and 4-1 at Chicago in the first two games of the Semifinals and then repeated the feat with 6‑1 and 6‑2 triumphs at St. Louis in the opening two games of the Stanley Cup Final. The Bruins were on the receiving end in 1995, when Martin Brodeur and the Devils posted 5‑0 and 3‑0 shutouts at Boston Garden in the first two games of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. (Elias)

DID YOU KNOW?
The Bruins have won seven of their last eight games, with the lone loss coming in overtime in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

The Penguins hadn’t lost consecutive home games since Jan. 23 and 29 – their first two games this season at CONSOL Energy Center.

LOOSE PUCKS
Boston defenseman Torey Krug collected one assist, bringing his playoff point total to 4‑2—6 in seven games. He has yet to be on the ice for an opposition goal this postseason (+4) . . . Fellow blueliner Johnny Boychuk scored his fifth goal of the playoffs, which leads all defensemen and equals his career high for the regular season . . . Boston forward Patrice Bergeron recorded 1‑1—2 to surpass 50 career postseason points (15‑36—51) . . . Pittsburgh forward Evgeni Malkin was held off the scoresheet and has 1‑1—2 in his last five games after an eight-game point streak (3-11—14) to begin the playoffs . . . Actor Vince Vaughn discussed the Blackhawks during his appearance Monday on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.”

SNEAK PEEK AT TUESDAY’S ACTION
All Times Eastern
Chicago @ Los Angeles, Game 3, CHI leads 2-0, 9:00 p.m., NBCSN, TSN, RDS

MORNING SIPS
The Kings have won a franchise-record seven consecutive home games this postseason (eight including last year) and 14 straight games at STAPLES Center dating to the regular season. Their last defeat on home ice was 73 days ago, a 1-0 loss to the Canucks on March 23.

The Kings have overcome a 2-0 deficit in a best-of-seven series twice in franchise history, most recently in the opening round of this year’s playoffs when they won four straight to defeat the Blues in six games. The only other time they did so was in the 2001 Western Conference Quarterfinals against the Red Wings, a series they also won in six games.

The Blackhawks have won five consecutive games since trailing the Red Wings, 3-1, in the Western Conference Semifinals. That’s the second-longest winning streak by any team this postseason, behind only the Kings’ six-game stretch from May 4-16.

The Blackhawks led the NHL with an 18-4-2 record on the road during the regular season. They are 2-3 as visitors during the playoffs and have converted 1-of-16 power-play opportunities (6.2%) away from home, which ranks last among remaining teams.

COACH CLAUDE JULIEN

Q.        Pittsburgh obviously missed on a couple of opportunities, goal posts, missing the net a little bit.  Do you expect them to come out a little bit more aggressive just because the puck didn’t bounce their way in Game 1?
COACH JULIEN:  I expect them to be better.  Any time you lose a game in your own building, and also being the team they are, they’re going to be better.  We expect that.  And that’s why we need to be better, as well.  Post is part of the game and sometimes they go your way and sometimes they don’t, and every team has been on both sides of them.
We hit a few posts ourselves the last game.  We’ve managed to score some goals.  So that was the difference.  So, again, when you have that much firepower in your lineup, you know what you’re up against.  So we expect them to be better.

        Q.  What lessons do you think your club learned from having to overcome the Maple Leafs in round one and the way they can play offense, and how have you seen that carry over?
COACH JULIEN:  It does play a big role.  The momentum obviously switches, I think, to your side alright.  I don’t know if I want to use the word momentum more than the confidence that it brings to your hockey club, and we’re seeing the same thing with Chicago, what they overcame against Detroit and the way they’ve played the first two games against LA.  It does a lot for your team.
It makes you feel good.  It makes you excited, gives you the energy that you need to continue.  And the way we won Game 7, there’s no doubt in my mind there was a real big turning point.  But at the same time I think the adversity you go through during the season helps you overcome some tough times, and I think that’s what helped us get through Game 7, is that we’ve been there before.  We scored a couple of goals late in games, and we knew we could.  So those kind of things that happen during the season also help you throughout the Playoffs.

        Q.  Just a thought on guys in the room were talking a little bit about how much they’re relishing the chance of the opportunity; everyone’s talking about Pittsburgh starting out strong, but the opportunity to come in here and try to win this second game and how much they’re welcoming the challenge of that.
COACH JULIEN:  Well, it’s going to be a challenge.  Like I said, they’re going to be a better team tonight.  And we’re going to need to be a better team, and there’s certain things in the last game that I thought we have to be better at in this game, and if we do that we’re going to give ourselves a chance.
If we don’t, then we’re obviously going to give them a great opportunity to tie the series.  So it’s hard to win games in the Playoffs, gets harder as you move forward.  So every time you get a chance you have to make the most of it and don’t waste that opportunity by saying at least we won one out of two.  You have to go out there every game and challenge and want to win that game because nothing guarantees you those home wins, and I think Pittsburgh knows that.

        Q.  Coach, what did you think of Torey’s game in Game 1?
COACH JULIEN:  I know you guys ask questions about this and that guy, what did you think about his game.  As far as I’m concerned, you know, I don’t really want to critique a player’s game more than say he’s been good for us.  He’s done what he’s had to do.
That’s not to assume that he wasn’t good.  I thought that just because he scored four and five and didn’t score the last game doesn’t make him a bad player, does it?  He’s been good.
He moves the puck well.  And obviously there’s a big forecheck going on here and it’s a physical — so far a physical series, so on and so forth.  So he’s handled himself well.  He’s going to be fine. He’s a great asset to our hockey club, and we’ve seen what he’s done for us with the puck and also on the power plays.  So we have all the confidence in him and that’s why he’s still in our lineup.

        Q.  You talked about how Bartkowski handled the whole week of handling the pressure at home, and how did he handle the news obviously that he didn’t get to play at home?
COACH JULIEN:  Like I said, Matt has grown immensely on and off the ice.  And his approach right now is all he wants is for our team to win. And if he’s not in, he’s going to be supportive of his teammates.  But at the same time he’s going to be ready when his name gets called to play.  So he’s been great, and especially in this, I guess, unique situation where he’s at home.  There’s no doubt is has to hurt a little bit.  But he’s able to put priorities first and he’s thinking about our team right now.

        Q.  As a player, you were a defenseman, and I’m wondering over the years you were playing and into the years of coaching, were there styles that you wanted to adopt, were there teams you watched, were there great players on defense that you watched that really influenced the way you want defense played?
COACH JULIEN:  Well, I think to be honest with you I’ve always been one of those coaches that adapts to whatever team you have.  You’ve got to utilize the strengths you have and work with that.  And that’s what I’ve tried to do, wherever I’ve been, whether it’s been Junior, the American League or NHL. And you look at the strengths that you have and you work with that, and you try and improve the weaknesses.  So that’s what I’ve tried to do.  And I think if you look at our team defensively, we’ve always been pretty decent.
We’ve had years where we’ve been challenged offensively.  We’ve tried to create some adjustments to help the team that we have been – more successful offensively.  And like I said, some teams have the Crosbys and the Malkins.  We have the Krejcis and the Bergerons that are extremely good players, but they’re different types of players, and we utilize guys to their strengths and so far it’s been good for us.

        Q.  Yesterday you mentioned that David Krejci is simply a great player at this time of year, but I just wondered if Jaromir Jagr has had any influence over the last two months on his inspired play?
COACH JULIEN:  I think David was pretty excited to have Jags come into our lineup and our team, because he’s always looked up to him as a younger player, and I think Jags is the one that’s recognized the fact that David is a great player.  And I said that before, for people that know Jags, they know how he is.  And to me he’s a great person.  He’s been great in our dressing room.  He’s happy to be with us.
And for what he’s accomplished and how he’s playing right now, even though the stats don’t indicate that, he’s made a lot of things happen.  He’s strong in the puck and creates room for our players.         So on and off the ice, I think Jags has had an influence on almost everybody.

        Q.  I’m guessing by the end of your playing career the NHL it was a 16- or 21-team league?
COACH JULIEN:  Six (laughter).

        Q.  Here we are 30 teams today.  The player you were then, do you think today, if you were at the top of your game, you could crack your own top six?
COACH JULIEN:  I’d be in the penalty box all night for hooking, clutching and grabbing.  I can tell you that much.  You know, credit to those guys, from my playing days to now, we know players are in better shape, we know they’re bigger, stronger, the equipment’s gotten better.  The game’s gotten faster and that’s why we should be excited about our game and stop looking back, because definitely if I take my peak years I couldn’t play in this league. That stick was such a good weapon to slow guys down, and we were allowed to do that stuff.  Nowadays, if you can’t skate and you’re not strong, you can’t get in the right positions, you can’t play in this league.
That’s how much it’s evolved, and even with 30 teams.  Can you imagine if we went down to six teams right now what kind of hockey this would be, but yet I think a lot of cities would miss out on a great game. So you try and balance that stuff out.  And there’s so many great players out there.  Anybody who tells me that this isn’t great hockey with 30 teams doesn’t have an open mind.
I think this league is great, and I think we have to evolve with this game.  I was one of those guys when I was younger listening to older players complain about where the game’s gone, and I told myself I never wanted to be that guy.  And I still don’t want to be that guy.  I think it’s great; not only is the game getting better, but we as former players and as coaches have grown with it.

        Q.  Given the production you got from your first line, all throughout the course of the Playoffs, in particularly Game 1 here, have you sensed that it’s placed a subtle bit of pressure on everybody else, the other lines, to try and match that production?
COACH JULIEN:  We’re only talking about one game here.  In this series, the one game, and then the last series, I think we had scoring from the fourth line, from the Bergeron line and from that.  So I’m not going to gauge myself on one game here.  They played well here and they did a great job.  But we also had some chances from the other lines. I said after the game the other night that I thought our third line played by far their best game of the series.  So hopefully they can muster some goals here, because that would certainly help.
But nonetheless, I’ve been pleased with our team so far, and I think before we start talking about just the one line and engage in that on other lines we need to make that series move on a little bit.

        Q.  We’ve seen this team react well when the emotions are high in a game and the emotions start to get high.  What did you see in how the team reacted when Patrice engaged in the fight with Malkin?
COACH JULIEN:  I mean, it was two guys, two top guys on both teams showing that they’re ready to play.  And it’s as simple as that.  And I don’t think our reaction was any different than theirs. And in a way you credit those guys for standing up for themselves and then showing that the Playoffs mean something.  Do both coaches want to see those guys in the penalty box, I don’t think so.  They lost one of their best power play guys for the start of the third and we lost our best penalty killer for the start of the third.  So it was a pretty even exchange if you prefer to put it that way, but I would prefer to have him on our bench versus in the penalty box.

        Q.  I guess my question was more along the lines of it’s just so rare to see Patrice drop the gloves.  So is there maybe a different kind of jolt that that situation gave to the team?
COACH JULIEN:  Not really.  I think it just shows as I said just shows that both teams and all the players on both teams are willing to do what it takes to win.  And it just shows the commitment I guess on both sides. If that’s the jolt that both teams need, so be it.

The Los Angeles Kings Will Host the Anaheim Ducks at Dodger Stadium in a Regular-Season NHL Game on Saturday, Jan. 25,
as Part of the 2014 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series™

NEW YORK (May 6, 2013) – The 2012 Stanley Cup^® champion Los Angeles Kings will play host to the Anaheim Ducks in a regular-season NHL^® game outdoors at Dodger Stadium on Saturday, Jan. 25, 2014, at 7 p.m. PT/10 p.m. ET, the National Hockey League announced today.

Part of the previously-announced 2014 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series™, a group of games planned for outdoor locations next season, the event will be the first outdoor regular-season NHL game played in the U.S. west of the Mississippi River, the southern-most outdoor NHL game ever and the first-ever in California.

“With their meeting in the 2014 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series, the Ducks and the Kings will write the next chapter in the exciting story of NHL hockey in Southern California,” Commissioner Gary Bettman said. “At a venue that represents so much glorious sports history, this match-up of Stanley Cup champions will raise our outdoor initiatives to bold new heights. We know the game will be a treat for our fans, and we thank the Ducks, the Kings, Coors Light, Dodger Stadium and the Los Angeles Dodgers for bringing it to life.”

Venerable Dodger Stadium will provide the unique setting for the event. Opened on April 10, 1962, it is the third-oldest continually used ballpark in Major League Baseball. Dodger Stadium has hosted more than 147 million fans since it opened. The host for eight World Series and close to 4,000 regular-season games, this will be the first time Dodger Stadium will be the home of a hockey game. With its view of Chavez Ravine overlooking downtown Los Angeles and the San Gabriel Mountains, Dodger Stadium has been called one of the treasured cathedrals of baseball with one of the most picturesque settings in sports.

“Dodger Stadium has been home to many unique and special moments over the past 51 years,” said Los Angeles Dodgers President Stan Kasten. “We’ll add another first in 2014 when the Dodger Stadium infield turns to ice as we host our first National Hockey League game between the Los Angeles Kings and the Anaheim Ducks.”  

Further details on this special NHL event, including national broadcast information and specifics on ticket opportunities for the season-ticket holders of each team, will be released shortly. Fans interested in receiving more information on ticketing, news and special offers around the event should register at www.NHL.com/2014LosAngeles.

Since the advent of a second team in Southern California 20 years ago, the Freeway Face-Off between the Ducks and Kings has been among the most spirited NHL rivalries. While in 2007 the Ducks, the younger of the two franchises, became the first California-based and first West Coast club to win the Stanley Cup championship since NHL teams exclusively began competing for the trophy in 1927, the more senior of the pair matched that feat last season, becoming the first No. 8 seed to be crowned champion.

Surprisingly, the Kings franchise has a history with outdoor hockey. The NHL’s first-ever foray outdoors was an exhibition game pitting the Kings against the New York Rangers in the parking lot of Caesars Palace in Las Vegas on Sept. 27, 1991. Played in 85-degree weather, more than 13,000 fans packed the stands to see the Kings defeat the Rangers, 5-2.  

“This is a credit to our fans and the amazing support they have shown to us and the NHL these past few years,” said Kings President, Business Operations, Luc Robitaille. “This will be a sporting event like no other that has ever been seen in Southern California and we are proud to be a part of it.”

Thanks in large part to the existence of both franchises, in the last 45 years hockey has transformed from a virtual nonentity to a mainstay in the Southern California sporting scene. In March, the varsity team from Santa Margarita Catholic High School in Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif., won the USA Hockey National High School National Championship.

At the 2007 NHL Draft™, Southern California’s Jonathan Blum became the first California-born and -trained first-round NHL draft pick when the Nashville Predators selected him at No. 23. At the 2010 NHL Draft™, held at STAPLES Center, Beau Bennett (Gardena, Calif.) was selected 20th overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins, becoming the highest drafted California-born and -trained player in NHL history. Nine picks later, the Ducks selected Emerson Etem (Long Beach, Calif.) marking the first time two Californians had been selected in the first round.  

“We are honored to be selected to participate in the NHL’s Stadium Series,” said Ducks Executive Vice President/General Manager Bob Murray. “Playing our rival Kings at historic Dodger Stadium will be a terrific showcase event for our sport. A Southern California outdoor hockey game in a picturesque setting will be an exciting, unique experience, and we look forward to being a part of it.”

“The Kings and Ducks playing in an outdoor game at the iconic Dodger Stadium will be a highly sought-after ticket in California,” said Mathieu Schneider, NHLPA Special Assistant to the Executive Director. “The players will have the opportunity to renew this longstanding rivalry while doing so in a warm climate for the first time since outdoor games have been played in the NHL. There is no doubt this event will add to the rich history of our game and this historic stadium.”

NHL Network™ and NHL.com will provide extensive coverage live from Southern California leading up to and after the game. NHL Social™ will have exclusive coverage on all social platforms, including the use of the hashtag #StadiumSeries.

Since the NHL established the tradition of hosting regular-season games outdoors to celebrate the origin and traditions of hockey, fans across North America have expressed their desire for those celebrations to spread across the hockey landscape. Five of the six most watched regular-season NHL games in the U.S. in the past 38 years have been played outdoors.

The NHL recently announced that the 2014 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic^® is scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 1, when the Detroit Red Wings will host to the Toronto Maple Leafs at Michigan Stadium on the University of Michigan campus. It is anticipated that the 2014 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic^® could set a world record for attendance at a hockey game.

Also, the NHL has announced that the Chicago Blackhawks and the Pittsburgh Penguins will participate in the 2014 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series™ on March 1, when they face off at Soldier Field. More information on that event can be found at www.NHL.com/2014Chicago.

The first-ever NHL regular-season game contested outdoors was played in 2003 when the Edmonton Oilers hosted the Montreal Canadiens at Commonwealth Stadium. Since then, the NHL has played six additional regular-season games outdoors. For a history of these games, please visit NHL.com.

Official fan packages for all NHL signature events will be available from Global Event Forum, the Official NHL Events™ Fan Package Partner. For more information please visit nhl.com/fanpackages.
         
About the NHL
The National Hockey League®, founded in 1917, is the second-oldest of the four major professional team sports leagues in North America.  Today, the NHL® consists of 30 Member Clubs, each reflecting the League’s international makeup, with players from more than 20 countries represented on team rosters. According to a Simmons Market Research study, NHL fans are younger, more educated, more affluent, and access content through digital means more than any other sport. The NHL entertains more than 250 million fans each season in-arena and through its partners in national television (NBC Sports Network, NBC, TSN, CBC, RDS, RIS, MTG, and NHL Network™) and radio (NHL Radio™, SiriusXM Radio).  Through the NHL Foundation, the League’s charitable arm, the NHL raises money and awareness for Hockey Fights Cancer™ and NHL Youth Development, and supports the charitable efforts of NHL players. For more information on the NHL, log on to NHL.com.

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